Curricular Unit. Physical Science, Physics, Chemistry Curricular Unit Title Drinking Water Treatment Process Header

Curricular Unit Subject Area(s) Physical Science, Physics, Chemistry Curricular Unit Title Drinking Water Treatment Process Header Image 1 Image file: drinking_water_plant_diagram.jpg ADA Description: Cartoon schematic of a drinking water treatment plant. The water comes from a lake and is treated with coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection until it is stored in a water tower at the end. Each of the process steps has its own cartoon that generally illustrates how the process works. Source/Rights: Copyright US Environmental Protection Agency http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/watertreatme ntplant_index.cfm Caption: Yellow highlight = required component Grade Level 11 (10-12) Summary The development of drinking water treatment processes has greatly increased the standard of human health throughout the past century. Through a 3-lesson series complete with hands-on activities, students learn the importance of water treatment, the determining factors of what makes water safe to drink, and the details of the traditional drinking water treatment process, including: coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection. Each lesson discusses the full spectrum of engineering design options and treatment technologies, while focusing on the most widely used methods for treating surface water on a large scale. Students use this knowledge to design and treat a small amount of local lake or river water. Engineering Connection Treating contaminated water to make it clean enough to drink has been the product of many years of engineering work. Civil and environmental engineers design systems that take water that is hazardous to drink and make potable by removing particles and pathogens. Although there are many engineered systems for drinking water treatment, the primary way engineers treat surface water is by coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection, which are engineered methods that closely emulate natural processes. Engineering Category = 1 Choose the category that best describes this unit s amount/depth of engineering content: 1. Relating science and/or math concept(s) to engineering 2. Engineering analysis or partial design 3. Engineering design process Keywords coagulation, disinfection, drinking water treatment, environmental engineering, filtration, flocculation, sedimentation 1

Educational Standards See the individual lessons and activities Related Lessons & Activities Related lessons: 1. Introduction to Drinking Water Treatment 2. Drinking Water Treatment: Coagulation, Flocculation, and Sedimentation 3. Drinking Water Treatment: Filtration and Disinfection Related activities: 1. First Steps to Treating Surface Water 2. The Clean-Up Crew: Filtration Time Required 1 week Unit Overview The first lesson and activity serve as background information in order to build a foundation of knowledge for the students to build off of when discussing the details of drinking water treatment. Lesson 2 discusses the processes of coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation, which are used to destabilize the suspended particles in the source water. The 3 rd lesson completes the story by describing the details of filtration and disinfection. These final steps are used to remove any remaining particles and neutralize any remaining biotic pathogens. Lessons 2 and 3 are correlated with activities 2 and 3, such that they students are participating in the processes that they are learning about in the lessons. Unit Schedule Summary Assessment The main two assessments are the scientific paper and quiz that the students complete by the end of the unit. However, the students fill out worksheets that follow each lesson and activity throughout the unit to help the teacher assess the students understanding as well as resources for the students to use in preparing for their paper and quiz. Attachments Drinking_Water_Treatment_Unit_Quiz.docx Other Drinking_Water_Treatment_Unit_Quiz_Solutions.docx Drinking_Water_Treatment_Unit_Presentation.ppx Redirect URL Contributors Bradley Beless, Jeremy Ardner Supporting Program University of Houston, National Science Foundation GK-12 and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Programs 2

Drinking Water Treatment by Brad Beless

Outline Monday: drinking water treatment overview Write introduction paragraph Tuesday: 1 st half of drinking water treatment process Lab part 1 Wednesday: 2 nd half of drinking water treatment process Lab part 2 Thursday: finish labs and discuss results Write results and conclusions paragraph Friday: quiz and wrap up

Opening Question Where does the water from your tap come from?

Where is Earth s Water? 0.007% of water on Earth is in lakes and rivers 0.76% of water on Earth is fresh ground water

Surface vs. Ground Water Ground Water Definition water contained in the pore spaces of the subsurface soils, called an aquifer Pros usually free of microorganisms and other pollutants Cons difficult to access and manage, can cause sequestration

Surface vs. Ground Water Surface Water Definition water that is contained on the earth s surface in lakes, rivers, swamps, etc Pros easy to access and manage Cons contains microorganism and possibly other contaminants that can be harmful to humans

What Makes Water Dirty?

What Makes Water Dirty? Common Contaminants 1. Microorganisms bacteria protozoa virus algae 2. Parasites 3. Chemical inorganic organic 4. Radionuclides Cryptosporidium Arsenic Hepatitis A E. coli Polychlorinated Biphenyl

What Makes Water Dirty? Contaminant Sources Microorganisms/Parasites fecal contamination Cholera, Typhoid, E. coli, Giardia, Salmonella natural sources soil bacteria and parasites Chemical/Radionuclides human pollution chemical spills or pest/herbicide application natural sources arsenic and uranium deposits

What Makes Water Dirty? Measuring Water Quality Microorganisms/Parasites turbidity: amount of light scattering particles indicator organisms Fecal Coliforms, E. coli, etc Chemical/Radionuclides heavy metals Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) organic contaminants Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GC MS)

What Makes Water Dirty?

Drinking Water Standards Standards set by the federal EPA sets Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) that are required by law sets Maximum Contaminant Goals (MCLG) that are ideally obtained

Drinking Water Treatment Point of Use home devices Brita RO filters camping filters Large scale operated by the city or state operated by private companies Upwards of 200MGD

Drinking Water Treatment Ground Water water softening or hardening and disinfection *rarely; heavy metal removal (arsenic) Surface Water Conventional treatment membrane filtration Saline Water reverse osmosis (RO) distillation

Why Does it Matter? Infant Mortality Source: World Health Organization (WHO), 2003 Access to Clean Water Source: World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children s Fund (UNICEF), 2004

Summary and Review 1. About what percent of the Earth s water is usable for drinking water treatment? 2. What are pros and cons of using both surface or ground water? 3. What are the 4 main types of water contaminants? 4. What is turbidity? 5. Name a couple types of water treatment techniques

Drinking Water Treatment Processes: Coagulation, Flocculation, Sedimentation

Opening Question What is static electricity?

Conventional Drinking Water Process Coagulation adding chemical agents to destabilize the particles in water FLOCCULATION Flocculation mixing the water to allow the particles to collide and form flocs Sedimentation keep the water calm and allow the flocs to settle to the bottom ` Filtration remove the remaining flocs by passing the water through a media filter Disinfection add a chemical agent (chlorine) that kills any remaining microorganisms

Coagulation What does it mean to destabilize water particles? natural water particles almost always have a negative static charge this causes electrostatic repulsion between the particles the goal of coagulation is to eliminate the repulsive forces

Coagulation How can we destabilize water particles? 1. double layer compression add cations (Na +, Ca 2+, Al 3+ ) 2. Adsorption and charge neutralization add charged polymers or cations with high valence charge or 3. sweep flocculation add chemicals that form a precipitate 4. inter particle bridging adding charged polymers Electrical Potential (mv) distance from particle (nm)

Coagulation What method is commonly used? Sweep flocculation is almost always the method use The most fool proof because the particles cannot be restabilized Iron [Fe] and Aluminum [Al] are the most common elements used Fe and Al form precipitates when at high enough concentrations Al(OH) (s) Fe(OH) (s) KAl(SO4)2 12H2O

Coagulation Coagulation adding chemical agents to destabilize the particles in water FLOCCULATION Water only spends a couple minutes passing through the coagulation process Process called Rapid Mixing is used to evenly mix the coagulant

Flocculation Slow mixing designed to maximize the collisions between particles Mix too weak and flocs might not become big enough Mix too strong and the flocs formed might break apart

flocculation 3 mechanisms of floc formation Diffusion Shear mixing Differential settling larger velocity larger velocity small velocity small velocity

Sedimentation During sedimentation, the water is slowed down so that the large flocs can settle to the bottom the flocs on the bottom are collected and treated elsewhere the supernatant water passes over a weir and goes to filtration Clarifier

Stokes Law Sedimentation v s = settling velocity ρ p = density of the floc ρ f = density of the fluid (water) µ = viscosity g = gravity R = radius of the floc Sedimentation basins (clarifiers) are designed so that any particle larger then a specific R value settles out more time = smaller and smaller flocs settling out

Conventional Drinking Water Process Coagulation adding chemical agents to destabilize the particles in water FLOCCULATION Flocculation mixing the water to allow the particles to collide and form flocs Sedimentation keep the water calm and allow the flocs to settle to the bottom Water spends a couple hours in the sedimentation basin

Lab Procedures Get into groups of two Collect a 2L plastic soda bottle and cap Use tape to label the bottles with your names and period Fill the bottle with bayou water to the level demonstrated (about 1.5 liters) Write a sentence describing the water and what you observe

Lab Procedures add 1/8 th teaspoon of Alum to your water cap the bottle tightly shake the bottle vigorously for 2 3 minutes (rapid mix)

Lab Procedures continue shaking the bottle, slowly rocking it back and forth for 15 minutes!!!

Lab Procedures measure the ph of your water using ph paper write a sentence describing the water and what you observe carefully set your bottle in the closet and allow it time to settle over night

Drinking Water Treatment Processes: Filtration, Disinfection, Distribution

What is diffusion? Opening Question

Filtration What are the filters made of? filters are most often made of sand and possibly a coal based material the size of the sand is designed to create depth filtration flocs are removed throughout the media filter and not just the surface Filter diagram here the media in the filters are called collectors

Filtration 3 mechanisms of floc removal diffusion interception gravity Collector

Filtration Stages of Filtration ripening filter to waste pseudo steady state optimum floc removal filter run graph here backwash cleaning the filter media

Conventional Drinking Water Process Coagulation adding chemical agents to destabilize the particles in water FLOCCULATION Flocculation mixing the water to allow the particles to collide and form flocs Sedimentation keep the water calm and allow the flocs to settle to the bottom Filtration remove the remaining flocs by passing the water through a media filter Water spends around 15 30 minutes going through the filter

Disinfection Types of Disinfection Ozone Pros: very reactive and effective can be created on site little microbe regrowth Ultra Violet (UV) Pros: none toxic works well under a wide range of water conditions minimum DBPs Chlorine Pros: reactive and effective has residual eliminates odors and color as well Cons: expensive complicated to use no residual Cons: high power cost Does not work well with turbid water no residual Cons: expensive toxic to humans forms DBPs

Distribution How it works large pumps are used to pressurize the water pipes water towers are used to store water and energy

Conventional Drinking Water Process Coagulation adding chemical agents to destabilize the particles in water FLOCCULATION Flocculation mixing the water to allow the particles to collide and form flocs Sedimentation keep the water calm and allow the flocs to settle to the bottom Filtration remove the remaining flocs by passing the water through a media filter Disinfection add a chemical agent (chlorine) that kills any remaining microorganisms

Lab Procedures discuss as a group how you want to design your filter draw a diagram of your filter with the different types of media labeled as a group, go to the station with the filter media and construct your filter

Lab Procedures retrieve your bottle from the day before, be VERY CAREFULL not to shake or mix the water write a sentence describing the water and what you observe

Lab Procedures one partner hold the filter above a catchment container the other partner slowly and carefully pour the water from your bottle through your filter, allowing it to drain into the catchment container once you have poured half of your water through the filter, begin collecting the filtered water with an additional cup write a sentence describing the filtered water and what you observe

Lab Procedures once finished filtering, set your used filter in a separate bin and set your bottle aside take your filtered water to the spectrometer be measured discard the water and use any remaining time to work on your lab report

Name: Date: Per: Drinking Water Treatment Quiz 1. (T/F) Water that seems cloudy or murky, like the water from Buffalo Bayou has a low turbidity. 2. (T/F) Water particles in natural waters are considered stable because they have a positive electrical charge, causing them to repel one another and avoid forming flocs. 3. (T/F) The main concern when treating surface water is microorganisms that can cause sickness. 4. (T/F) The main source of chemical contamination of water is natural oil deposits leaking into the groundwater. 5. (T/F) The purpose of a media filter is to strain out the remaining flocs on the surface of the filter. 6. The measure of light scattering particles is defined as. a. ph b. Turbidity c. Salinity d. Color 7. When using a clean sand filter it is important to a. Allow the filter to ripen before collecting usable drinking water b. Collect the initial water that comes out in order to conserve resources c. Backwash the filter before every use d. Add Alum to the filtered water 8. What percentage of the Earth s water is accessible for use as drinking water? a. 96.5% b. 75% c. 2.5% d. <1% 9. All of these are benefits of access to clean drinking water except a. Infant mortality rates decrease with access to clean drinking water b. It improves overall quality of life c. Infant mortality rates increase with access to clean drinking water d. It provides water that is tasty and fresh 10. What chemical is used in the disinfection stage of the conventional drinking water process? a. Chlorine b. Flouride c. Bourine d. Uranium

Name: Date: Per: Drinking Water Treatment Quiz 1. F (T/F) Water that seems cloudy or murky, like the water from Buffalo Bayou has a low turbidity. 2. F (T/F) Water particles in natural waters are considered stable because they have a positive electrical charge, causing them to repel one another and avoid forming flocs. 3. T (T/F) The main concern when treating surface water is microorganisms that can cause sickness. 4. F (T/F) The main source of chemical contamination of water is natural oil deposits leaking into the groundwater. 5. T (T/F) The purpose of a media filter is to strain out the remaining flocs on the surface of the filter. 6. The measure of light scattering particles is defined as. a. ph b. Turbidity c. Salinity d. Color 7. When using a clean sand filter it is important to a. Allow the filter to ripen before collecting usable drinking water b. Collect the initial water that comes out in order to conserve resources c. Backwash the filter before every use d. Add Alum to the filtered water 8. What percentage of the Earth s water is accessible for use as drinking water? a. 96.5% b. 75% c. 2.5% d. <1% 9. All of these are benefits of access to clean drinking water except a. Infant mortality rates decrease with access to clean drinking water b. It improves overall quality of life c. Infant mortality rates increase with access to clean drinking water d. It provides water that is tasty and fresh 10. What chemical is used in the disinfection stage of the conventional drinking water process? a. Chlorine b. Flouride c. Bourine d. Uranium

Name: Date: Per: 11. What was the purpose of adding the Alum powder to the bayou water in the overall drinking water treatment process? Use the vocabulary words you learned during the lectures. Alum is used as a coagulant to destabilizes the natural water particles, allowing them to collide together and form flocs. Alum also forms a precipitate, which helps the destabilized particles form bigger and more dense flocs. 12. Name each step of the conventional drinking water treatment process and briefly describe each step. Coagulation: destabilize the natural water particles Flocculation: mix the water in order to allow the destabilized particles to collide and from flocs Sedimentation: stop any mixing and allow the flocs to settle to the bottom (media) Filtration: filter the remaining particles/flocs with sand and coal collectors Disinfection: deactivate any remaining microorganisms by adding chlorine or ozone (bonus) Distribution: Store and distribute the clean drinking water through a network of pipes